Unlock the Mysteries of Canine Intelligence with Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods' 'The Genius of Dogs'

Amazon Customer: This was a great read. It will allow me to better understand those dogs thatI am lucky enough in my life to encounter.

United States on Nov 16, 2023

Carina Oller: It was fantastic while reading the book and learned so many things about the dogs their cognitive and behaviour. I’ll recommend this to my friends.

Canada on Jul 16, 2023

liever anoniem: gebruikt:1. om meer te weten te komen over honden
2. om te lezen over het onderzoek naar domesticatie door Beljajev
soms wat teveel informatie in een keer, maar toch lezenswaardig

Germany on Sep 08, 2021

Chas: This is not a science textbook and reviewers expecting dry exposition seem to have been disappointed. Yes, he's given to rambling a bit but I found the anecdotal approach helped to put the information and theories into context. A fascinating account of some of the key research and many insights into our current understanding.

United Kingdom on Oct 25, 2020

Amazon Customer: This book is excellent. The research is accurate and well documented yet totally readable for the layman. The writing is smooth, professional without a mess of scientific jargon making the book a quick and easy read. It definitely needs to be read several times because there is so much information there.
There are some things I would disagree with such as the complete separation of trial and error learning and cognition. There is definitely more overlap than the author implies. And several other things to do with learning are overly simplified (which probably makes it more readable for the lay person) or short on explanation. But, in general the book is the best thing to come along in ages short of reading the original research. E.D. Bailey Prof. Emeritus Animal Behavior

Canada on Jun 24, 2017

BullWorth: In addition to illuminating a fascinating area of scientific research - the co-evolution of dogs and humans - this book adds important understanding to dog training. All dog trainers should read it.

Brian Hare explains the major shortcomings of both of the two leading models of dog training: "leader-of-the-pack" (dominance training), and "operant conditioning" (mislabeled as clicker training). He points out that dominance training is based on scientifically inaccurate assumptions about how dogs relate to humans; while operant conditioning intentionally ignores dog's unique cognitive processes (ways of thinking).

Dogs evolved from wolves by refocusing their social skills and affection towards humans, Hare explains. For example, they can learn hundreds of human words using many of the same mental processes that a human infant does. And can learn by copying humans and inferring communication signals from human gestures such as pointing. Operant conditioning does not accommodate these capacities, so it misses a major opportunity to train from dog's strengths.

A major take-home training lesson for me from this book was Hare's point that, as social animals, dogs are...

United States on Jan 26, 2016

Canis bonus: AUDIENCE: You won't need to know scientific/technical jargon to follow the book, but it goes waaaaay beyond what a the average dog owner is looking for. So I would position it more as an education tool for dog professionals who want to brush up on dog cognition research.

REVIEW

Giving credit where it's due:

The book is written so damned well it's impossible to put down. It is sharp, informal and precise in just the right doses.

And it's exploded a few intellectual bombs in me, giving me these delightful `ha haaa' moments where the last few obscure pieces of the puzzle click together.

The authors integrate the results of each study they review into:

1/ The big picture: fascinating philosophical discussions about the limits of a dog's cognitive abilities; and
2/ The mundane: shedding light on everyday dog behaviour.

They also approach controversial societal topics like breed-related legislation with wit and balance.

Pointing the finger at pointing gestures:

The book excessively stresses the importance of Dr Hare's own research (dogs interpreting human pointing gestures) in my view. The authors nearly present the work...

United Kingdom on Jan 20, 2014

British Mystery Buff: This non-fiction book, co-written by Brian Hare (director of the Duke Canine Cognition Center at Duke University) and his wife, Vanessa Wood, an award-winning journalist and author, not only explains the ways in which dogs--even mutts from the shelter--are smart, but also why.

Hare has the credentials and research to give credibility to his premise about dog intellect, but he makes it clear from the beginning that canines have a specific type of intelligence. It allows them to be successful in a world where they depend upon humans to survive. He calls canine cognition "dognition" and explains there are some areas dogs (even puppies) have abilities that justify the term "genius", while they perform average or even below average in others when tested.

When the writing is anecdotal, it's fascinating. Hare traveled in Russia, Germany and Africa to study other species (such as Russian silver foxes bred to become friendly to humans and bonobos, apes that are similar to chimpanzees but much less aggressive) using what he learned in his research into the canine mind.

While I was intrigued with reading about his research with dogs and what he learned, when he describes...

United States on Apr 12, 2013